Carpe Diem
by mysticgirl101
Summary: 1st CM Fic. A series of kidnappings and murders takes the team to Boston to try and save young lives. Meanwhile though Reid finds himself enthralled by the new intern. A girl who understands him better than anyone else and has a haunting back story of her own which is brought up by the case. More info inside. Please R&R. I don't own Criminal Minds. Rated M mostly for safety.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi everyone for those of you who don't know me I am mysticgirl. I have mostly been writing about Castle and NCIS but have now decided to give Criminal Minds a go. **

**I guess though I haven't totally left them behind though as although this isn't a crossover it does involve a character from one of my other stories. The character is in my Castle story **_**Her Secret Life No More. **_**If you don't watch Castle then it is fine – there are no obvious Castle references in this story.**

**The character is of my own creation hence why this is not a crossover. I assure you I am not trying to create one of those Mary Sue characters. That idea is one of the reasons I haven't uploaded before now.**

**I really hope you like this as I love Criminal Minds, especially Spencer Reid. He is the definition of adorable. And after everything he has been through, I wanted to give him something happy. And I guess I wanted to do the same for my own character.**

**Anyway I hope you like this. Please inbox or review with any questions. Enjoy:**

Chapter 1

'_**Love at first sight is easy to understand; it's when two people have been looking at each other for a lifetime that it becomes a miracle.' Sam Levenson**_

Spencer Reid walked quickly towards the FBI's behavioural analysis unit deep in thought as always, considering the book he had read last night on theoretical physics barely paying attention to his surroundings until he stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for their floor. Just as the doors were about to close a hand slipped between them and he looked up startled as a girl slipped into the elevator and the doors slid closed behind her.

Her hand hovered over the control panel before it dropped back to her side having seen that the button for the BAU floor was already lit. Curiously Reid glanced at her, she was younger than he, but not by that many years, maybe five at most. She didn't look long out of college. She had light brown hair which was slightly damp from the rain outside and she kept brushing it out of her face. She was very slender and had pale skin and was dressed modestly in trousers, a loose button down blouse with a jacket over the top and boots. She glanced over at him then and their eyes met for a few seconds and Reid found himself transfixed by her eyes, warm, gentle yet wary, a strange greenish gold in colour and totally mesmerising.

The girl was the one to look away and as she did so a small smile slipped onto her face "so what is your business with the BAU" she asked in a gentle smooth voice and Reid blinked to focus. "I uh... I ... I work there as a profiler". She looked back at him "really" she said "been there long" he nodded pushing his glasses higher up his nose and shifting his bag on his shoulder "yes five years, four months, twenty seven days" he said and she gave him a look "really" she said again "you don't look old enough to have been working there that long, you look like you are still at college"

Reid shifted "I'm 31" he said "huh" she said smiling "I wouldn't have guessed that". Blushing slightly he looked down "and you knew how long you have been working at the BAU exactly off of the top of your head" she asked and he nodded "I could tell you the hours and minutes but I thought that might be taking it a little too far" he said. She laughed gently and Reid found himself fascinated by the musical sound. She cocked her head to one side eyeing him keenly and he ducked his head again before he looked up "so um what is your business at the BAU is it business or pleasure... I mean do you know someone here... I wasn't assuming you were coming here for pleasure" he gabbled nervously.

She laughed gently again "business I hope" she said with a smile eyeing him "am I making you nervous" she asked and he blushed "little bit" he admitted and she grinned before she turned to face him fully. "Don't worry" she said and her eyes flicked to his name badge on the strap to his bag "I don't bite _Spencer Reid_". He shifted again _'was the elevator ride always this long' _he found himself wondering as he stared into her greenie gold eyes again.

They were still staring at each other when the elevator stopped and the doors opened with a cheery _ding. _It was a moment before the girl looked away breaking the spell she had over Reid much to his relief "you wouldn't happen to know where I could find Jennifer Jareau do you Spencer" she asked. Numbly Reid pointed down the hall towards JJ's office and she smiled "thanks" she said as she stepped out of the elevator "well I hope to see you around Spencer it was nice to meet you" and with that she turned and headed down the corridor her long light brown hair bouncing on her back as she walked.

Reid stared after her until he heard someone clear their throat and he looked over to find Morgan, Emily, Garcia and Rossi all staring at him having evidently seen everything that had happened one the doors had opened. Reid blushed as he stepped out of the elevator and tried to head to his desk but his path was blocked by the others, slowly he looked up at Morgan who was staring after the girl. "Who... was that" he asked looking back at Reid and slowly he looked away down the hall in time to see the girl disappear into JJ's office "I have no idea" he said slowly before he stepped round the agents and over to his desk but they all followed "really pretty boy" Morgan teased "because another few seconds and you two probably would have started making out, come on now kid, you know you can tell me who she is"

"I honestly don't know" Reid said sitting down "I only just met her in the elevator and we talked during the ride up that is all"

"Well whoever she is I like her" Emily said "she is the only girl I have seen make you blush Reid". Again Reid reddened "Blushing is all to do with your fight or flight response being activated and adrenaline being released which speeds up your breathing and heart rate, it also causes the pupils to dilate so that you can take in as much information as you can...and it is involuntary, I have no control over it" he muttered "and there is no psychological explanation behind it". "Yes there is" everyone said and Reid looked up confused "oh baby boy you truly are innocent aren't you" Garcia said moving round to hug him "you like her"

"No I don't" Reid spluttered his voice rising a few octaves "how can I... I know nothing about her and I only met her for 2 minutes and fourteen seconds". Everyone rolled their eyes "come on Reid don't you believe in love at first sight" Garcia asked "it is physically impossible ..." Reid began but Morgan cut him off "I don't even want to know" he said raising his hand to stop him just as Rossi said "hey look there she is" and they all turned to see JJ and the girl standing by the elevator smiling as they talked before the doors opened and they shook hands before the girl stepped in.

Before the doors closed she looked past JJ and her eyes fell on Reid again and he felt himself blush again as he stared at her. She smiled at him before she winked, then the doors closed and she disappeared from sight.

JJ turned and headed into the bullpen were Garcia and Morgan pounced on her gleefully. "Who was that JJ" Morgan asked eagerly. JJ raised her eyebrows at him before looking past him "why is he so interested" she asked "because they think Reid is in love with her" Rossi responded "am not" Reid muttered. JJ smiled and looked back at Morgan "she is one of the possible interns" she said "we have to choose one and mentor them for a few months, I have twenty three others to interview and it is going to take me all day"

"Is she any good" Reid blurted out unable to stop himself and Morgan grinned, JJ smiled "yes" she said "she graduated top of her year from Longwood and has plenty of recommendations from a psychologist in DC, I put her down as a possibility". "Aw there you go Reid you might see your girlfriend again" Morgan said giving him a playful shove "not my girlfriend" he muttered and was relieved as Hotch appeared and ordered them into the briefing room to give them the rundown of their new case.

As the others left he paused and looked at JJ "what's her name" he asked softly and JJ looked at him "Olivia" she said with a smile "her name is Olivia". Reid nodded and slowly moved over to the briefing room. He barely listened to the rundown, all he could think about was Olivia, the girl with the bright eyes that had stunned him to his core and was causing him to have all sorts of feelings that he had never felt before.

'_**Sometimes the heart sees what is invisible to the eye'.**_ **H Jackson Brown Jr**

**Hope you enjoyed that. If you have any queries feel free to inbox me and I will do my best to explain.**

**Please review; I would love to know what you think**

**Thanks**

**Mysticgirl**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi. Thanks to Ferfer94 for the review. I really appreciated it and thanks to everyone who has added this story to their favourites and to their alerts list. I know this chapter is quite short but I promise after this one they get a lot longer. Enjoy. **

Chapter 2

'_**Where sense is wanting, everything is wanting.' **_**Benjamin Franklin**__

It was a month later that Reid walked into the BAU with Emily chattering away happily to her, trying to convince her to watch _The Lord of the Rings _with him . "They are really good movies Emily and I think you will enjoy them, you could come round to mine this Friday after work. And if we got started immediately at six and didn't stop we would be done by 3.30am"

Emily paused to stare at him as they arrived at their desks "hang on a second Reid how long are these movies". "What movies" Morgan asked as he entered with a cup of coffee _"The Lord of the Rings" _Reid said happily "oh pretty boy you want her to watch them all at once, yeah I think you are the only one who is capable of doing that" Morgan said smirking "why how long are they" Emily asked warily.

"They are three hours each" came a voice from behind and they all turned to see the speaker "so roughly they total to about nine hours long". Everyone stared at the speaker and Reid felt his stomach clench as he stared into her hypnotic greenie gold eyes. She stood there staring at them with a cheeky grin on her face as she assessed them before she looked at Reid "hello again Spencer" she said with a smile "nice to see you again". Reid couldn't respond; he just stared at her in surprise.

"You two know each other" Hotch asked looking between them from where he stood next to her.  
"We met when I came for my interview" she said "Spencer was kind enough to direct me to JJ's office" Hotch nodded before he looked at the rest of the team "everyone this is Olivia Beckett, she will be working with us for a few months, she graduated from Longwood University last summer". "Wow you were quick to go for a job" Morgan commented and she smiled "no point waiting" she said "and most people call me Livie"

"Well nice to meet you Livie" Emily said stepping forward to greet her and she smiled as everyone greeted her and introduced themselves to her. "Anyway we have a new case" Hotch said "we need to hurry, it is a child abduction in Boston, wheels up in one hour with a debriefing on the plane" he looked at Livie "you need to go pack a go bag" he said and she grinned "already got one" she said and he looked at her curiously. "When JJ called to tell me I was in she said that I should have a go bag packed in my trunk at all times" Hotch nodded at JJ who had appeared, "everyone else packed" he asked and they all nodded "in that case let's head over to the plane and we can start the debriefing whilst we wait for take off"

Everyone nodded and turned and headed to the elevator "Morgan, Reid, Livie is going to be with you today" Hotch said "you will be going to the crime scene, the little girl was abducted from her bedroom whilst her parents were killed" "so we are looking for a team" Emily noted and Hotch nodded "their method matches that of a handful of other cases from across the country".

Morgan looked at Livie "you're not squeamish are you" he asked "not in the slightest" she responded "afraid of guns" he asked and she raised her eyebrows before she brushed her jacket back to show a gun in its holster "nope" she said. "Ever fired one" he asked "yes" she said "so you have been in a life threatening situation before" he noted. "Morgan" JJ chided looking at Livie "it's ok" Livie said quietly before she looked at Morgan "yes" she said calmly "many times actually, more than anyone should be in in a life time"

Everyone looked at her but she didn't seem to want to elaborate further and the doors to the elevator opened and they all headed out to the cars and Reid found himself sitting next to her in the back of one of the cars as Morgan drove with Emily sitting next to him. "So um where you from originally" Emily asked turning to look at Livie and she smiled "New York" she said with a smile "always lived there with my mom". "What does she do" Morgan asked "homicide detective for the NYPD" Livie said "well that explains why you are interested in crime" Morgan said "yeah that and other things" Livie said with a smile. "Do you just live with your mom" Emily asked. "Nah with my stepdad too though I consider him my father because he is the only father figure I have ever had". Emily smiled "that's nice" she said

Livie grinned before she looked over and Reid again who shifted uncertainly "so have you got a boyfriend" Morgan asked glancing at Reid "Morgan" Emily chided. Livie smiled "No, just split up with my boyfriend actually, Alex, he was nice but I didn't know... he could be very distant and it was hard sometimes, he could be a bit jealous of people and very over protective which I didn't like so we". Morgan looked at her in the mirror "I hope you didn't let him hold you back from what you could become" he warned and Livie smirked "believe me, he knew not to try and stop me" Emily laughed again 'I like her" she said to Morgan, "she has fire"

"Oh you haven't seen anything yet" Livie said with a twinkle in her eye and Emily grinned at her as they arrived at the airport.

Once they were all on the plane and had settled down. They logged on to talk to Garcia who grinned at them "so hey Livie how's your first day going, Morgan grilled your entire life story out of you yet" Livie grinned back "just about" she said "my turn next" everyone chuckled.  
"Garcia tell us about this case" Hotch said and instantly Garcia turned professional "ok so over the past month five children have been abducted from their homes in the middle of the night and their parents murdered, they were suffocated before they snatched the children from their beds. All of the children were little girls between the ages of 4 and 7, their names were Grace Harvey aged 5, Annabelle Matthews was 7, Lucy Walters was 6, Elena James was 4 and Stella Davis is 6"

"None of them look very similar" Livie noted "so they haven't got a particular type they are interested in" Hotch nodded "Garcia how long were the children kept alive" he asked "it varied" Garcia said " Lucy Walters survived the longest, her body was discovered 8 days after she was taken, the next day Elena James was taken but her body was found just three days later, they haven't found Stella's body yet"

"Then we operate under the assumption that she is still alive" Hotch said and everyone nodded. "Reid I want you to build a geographical profile" Hotch said "JJ I need to talk to all the family members available ok" JJ nodded and stood heading to the back of the plane whilst Reid moved over to another table and pulled out a map of the local area and began to plot the profile. 

He looked up as someone sat next to him and automatically reddened slightly when he saw that it was Livie. She peered at his map curiously before she asked "what are you doing", he swallowed before he responded "I am building a geographical profile of the unsub based on the abduction sights and body dump areas so we can narrow down the comfort zone".

Livie nodded peering at the map "so Grace was victim number one and she was taken from here and found here" she asked pointing to the circles and he nodded "the first victim usually tells us a lot about an unsub as they are more likely to mess up" he said and Livie nodded again "where was Annabelle taken and discovered" she asked and Reid plotted the points labelling them Victim 2. He looked at Livie curiously "why do you use their names" he asked and Livie tilted her head to look at him, her eyes soft "why don't you" she asked gently.

"Because it makes it easier to look at so much death" he said "to not personalise them" Livie smiled and reached into the file to pull out the pictures of the girls. "I call the victims by their names because I work better personalising them" she said "my mom was the same, she and I decide to view them not as a victim, but as a person who was torn away from their family. By keeping them alive, we keep the cases alive" Reid nodded "but then how will you let go if you can't solve them" he asked. Livie didn't answer at first, she just chewed her lip, then she looked at him "do we ever actually let the cases we don't solve go" she asked and Reid paused realising she was right.

Morgan and Emily were both watching them talk with sly grins on their faces "oh JJ you struck gold with this one" Morgan said as JJ came and sat down "look at them, there is definitely something there". JJ looked at them "yeah" she said with a sigh "wow I have never seen Reid look at someone like that before" she said "have you Hotch"

Their team leader looked over his shoulder at the two youngest members of his team "no" he said slowly "but it does worry me". They all looked at him "we don't want them to be distracted by each other and for that to cost the life of a little girl". JJ touched his shoulder "none of us will let anything come in front of the life of a child" she said "Hotch have you read her file" Hotch looked up at her and nodded "then you know why she won't let anything stop her rescue a child" JJ said as Morgan and Emily looked at each other quizzically "I know" Hotch said before he looked at Livie and Reid again "and that worries me also" he murmured.

'_**Sometimes you have to stop worrying, wondering and doubting. Have faith that things will work out, maybe not how you planned, but just how it's meant to be.' **_**Nishan Panwar**

**Hope you enjoyed that. Sorry it is so short. Will be longer next time I promise.**

**Please review. I would love to hear what you think.**

**Feel free to inbox me with any questions or suggestions**

**Thanks **

**Mysticgirl**__


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

'_**The more you are able to understand and appreciate someone else's perspective, the more dimension, depth, and texture you ultimately add to your own'. Rania Al Abdullah **_

When they arrived in Boston they headed straight down to the Boston PD headquarters where they were introduced to Captain Soloman who had called them in. He took them to the room that had been set aside for them where they made their own introductions before Hotch sent Morgan, Reid and Livie off to the latest crime scene whilst Rossi and Emily headed to the first crime scene and he and JJ stayed to interview the family members who had agreed to come in and talk to them.

Morgan continued to grill Livie about her life in the car and she answered though both other profilers could tell she was avoiding something from her past. "What about siblings" Morgan asked "two sisters" Livie said "well one older stepsister called Alexis, she travelling at the moment, so I haven't seen her for a while. Then I have a baby half sister, well she isn't really a baby but to me she still is. She is nine at the moment; she is called Kaylee and butter wouldn't melt in her mouth. She has those big blue eyes that just have you wrapped round her little finger. She's a really sweet kid"

"Sounds it" Morgan said as they arrived outside the house and they headed up pulling on their gloves as the officer outside lifted the tape for them to pass.

The house was eerily quiet compared to the hustle and bustle outside and Reid automatically began to hunt around searching for something that would tell him about their unsub. Morgan headed to the kitchen whilst Livie followed Reid into the lounge looking at the pictures on the mantelpiece. "A lot of pictures of Stella" she said "she was obviously the centre of their lives". Reid nodded "she was, see how all the adult movies are stacked high at the top and out of reach whilst all the kids movies are at the bottom, they made all her movies easily accessible for her and even left the DVD player in easy reach for her so she could do it herself"

Livie nodded and moved over to the TV and switched it and the DVD player on to find a cartoon movie on, she gave a small smile as she picked up the DVD case "_The Lion King" _she murmured "you know it" she asked, Reid shrugged "know of it but haven't actually seen it, why have you", Livie smiled "many times" she said "little sister remember… we both love it" she looked at him. "So you never saw this" she asked "no" he said and she raised her eyebrows "what were you doing when you were a kid" she asked and he ducked his head "I preferred to read" he said "and I looked after my mom too" he hesitated before he continued, not looking at her "she was um very sick and has now been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia". He picked up a book and flicked through it until she touched his arm gently and he looked at her as she smiled "sorry" she said and he shrugged "don't be, you weren't to know, I don't tell many people" "well thank you for opening up to me" she said and Reid nodded.

From the doorway to the kitchen Morgan cleared his throat and they both looked round to see him watching them. "Reid why don't you finish off down here and Livie and I will check out the bedrooms" Morgan said, Reid nodded and Livie headed up the stairs after Morgan.

Morgan watched her as she looked around the little girl's room "kept up to date with her age" she said "the reading books are for her age, they are kept at eye level whilst others are kept below" she opened the wardrobe "clothes used most regularly are kept on the low rail that she can reach" she said. Morgan nodded "and you know that because" he asked, Livie looked up at him before she pointed to an outfit on the end "school uniform was kept on this rail" she said "good" he said "what do you think her relationship was like with her parents"

Livie straightened and looked around "good" she said and she picked up a book on the bedside table; _The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. _"She looks like an advanced reader but I would say this is too advanced for a six year old" she said looking at him "which suggests they are reading it to her"

Morgan nodded again "tell me about her abduction" he said testing her and her eyes glinted as she accepted his challenge. "He came in after killing her parents" she said "he had blood on his shoes… he crept over to her bed and…" she looked at the bed before she touched a red stain "sat down next to her" "yep" Morgan said "neighbours didn't hear any screaming so how did he stop her screams" he asked, Livie thought "he either threatened her or he put a hand over her mouth"

"Which one do you think" Morgan asked, she thought looking around before she looked up "hand over mouth" she said "because if they had had a knife then why not kill the parents with it, and then they could drug her at the same time using a rag soaked in chloroform". "Did they drug her" Morgan asked "didn't the medical examiner find minute burns that could be from chloroform in their nostrils" Livie asked "ah good you even read the ME report" Morgan said with a smile "thought you might have been to busy with Reid"

Livie gave him a look before she stood up and looked around the room again "he likes you" Morgan said and Livie looked at him "you can't know that" she said "I can" he responded "I have known him eight years kid and you are the first person he has ever told willingly about his mother, took a serial killer for us to find out"

Livie looked at him "he seems a bit lost" she said gently "yeah" Morgan said "I guess he is, his biggest fear is that one day he too will become schizophrenic, and I think sometimes he looses himself in that fear" Livie sighed and picked up a toy dog from the pillow of the little girl's bed "I guess we all get lost at some point though right" she asked and Morgan nodded "come on lets go see the main crime scene"

They headed down the hall into the master bedroom which had been left as it was after the forensics people were finished with it. Their eyes combed over the room with the large bed in it which was still covered in rumbled sheets that had been kicked around as the mother and father of Stella Davis had struggled to breathe. "The report says they used pillows" Morgan said flicking through the file "so they didn't bring their own weapons" "they must be strong" Livie said "I don't think it is that easy to suffocate someone is it"?

Morgan shook his head "not at all" he said "to hold someone down as they put everything they have into fighting you requires a lot of energy, not to mention nerve"

He looked around "so we have two unsubs" he said "one of them has to be dominant and the other submissive" he grabbed two pillows and chucked one to Livie "the dominant one would take the father" he said moving over to the side of the bed that the father had been found on "because he wouldn't want his follower to mess it up, a big strong male is more of a problem than a women so he would have his accomplice take out the mother"

Nodding Livie moved to the other side of the bed "we would do it at the same time" she said "so that one of them does not wake the other" Morgan nodded in agreement "and we can't risk them waking up the kid" he added.

"So we suffocate the mom and dad" he said and mimed doing that as Livie did the same before she looked down "the mother struggles and knocks a lamp off the side" she said "and tries to get the phone but passes out before she can reach it" she said looking at nail gauges in the wood of the table near the phone.

"The dad managed to knock the clock off the side" Morgan said "which gave us the time of death at about 3am, he is struggling hard maybe he is getting away so I grab the lamp and use it to knock him out which explains the blood" they both looked at the blood on the bed and floor and how it moved back out of the room.

Both of them stepped away from the bed dropping the pillows "Now that is out of the way" Morgan said looking at his file "I leave you ransacking the drawers for valuables whilst I go for the girl"

Both of them moved back down the hall towards the little girls room and Livie paused in the doorway to watch Morgan move in and sit on the edge of the bed "I drug the girl" he said "and then I lift her" carefully he followed the foot prints "I carry her out where I meet you and we go down the stairs together and… leave through the back door because we don't want to risk being seen with the girl"

"How did they get in" Livie asked and Morgan paused looking at the file "unknown entry point" he said. "They came through the garage" Reid said appearing beside them "the lock is simple to pick and the garage has a window large enough for someone to climb through, the catch is very dodgy on it" he added.

"Good work pretty boy" Morgan said looking around "I think that is all we are going to get from here for now so let's get out of here"

They headed back to the car fending off reporters who had gotten wind of their arrival and were asking for a quote but they ignored them all and headed back to the headquarters.

They arrived back and were introduced to some of the detectives who worked for Boston PD before they headed to the room they had been given "why are you introduced as doctor" Livie asked as she helped Reid set up their whiteboards "because everyone feared that calling me a FBI Special Agent would make people not take me seriously because of my age when I first started and I never changed it" Reid said "ah" Livie said "well I like it, suits you" Reid reddened.

Rossi and Emily returned at that moment and they told them what they had found out from the first victims house "they were quick and efficient" Rossi said "it was too clean, cleaner than I would have expected for a first time so I am thinking those cases with similar MO's must be them after all". Everyone looked at each other before Morgan pulled out his phone and called Garcia who responded quickly with "He who seeks the Queen of All Knowledge, speak and be recognized"

Livie raised her eyebrows looking around "it's a Morgan and Garcia thing" Emily explained smirking "right" Livie said as Morgan grinned "hey baby girl listen I need those magic computers of yours" "alrighty my magic computers are ready and raring to go" she said, "I need you to look across the country for any cases of similar MO, they might not involve killing the parents at first, that might be an escalation but look for anything similar"

"Ok hang on a mo, how far am I going back" she asked and they could hear her fingers flying across the keyboard. They all thought "the crime scenes suggest the unsubs to be fairly young" Rossi said and Morgan nodded in agreement "go back ten years to start with Garcia"

"Alrighty this might take a while so I will buzz you back when … oh". "Uh oh I didn't like the sound of that" Emily said moving forward. "Um well…" Garcia said "you aren't going to like this guys". "What is it Garcia" Hotch asked staring at the phone with his arms folded "there have been kidnappings and killings across the country for the past eight years from many different states, all the girls were between the ages of 3 and 9, they happened in sprees; seven victims in one state then they would move and kidnap seven more and then move to another, after the third state they would stop for the rest of the year before they would appear somewhere else"

Everyone looked at each other in surprise before Emily asked "how many states and cities have they done this year Garcia" "this is the third" the tech analysis said softly "meaning you have to get them or…" "we lose them for another year" Hotch said "send all that over to our tablets Garcia and good work, see what else you can dig up for us". "Your wish is my command" Garcia said "all the info there is on these scumbags I will get for you sir, over and out" and with that she hung up.

Everyone looked around again "um how come no one has connected these cases before now" Morgan asked looking a bit pissed. "You know that states don't often share cases Morgan" Hotch "yeah but this is huge" Morgan protested "I know" his boss said "but there is nothing we can do about it now Morgan except find Stella and stop these men before they hurt anyone else ok" Morgan nodded slowly and picked up his tablet and began to flick through the cases that Garcia had just sent over.

Reid continued to set up his geographical profile whilst Livie went with JJ and Emily to interview some of the family members including Stella Davis' aunt and uncle who were praying for her safe return. He glanced through the glass at her and saw her listening to Emily who was speaking gently and reassuringly to Stella's aunt and uncle. There was something in Livie's eyes almost a sense of familiarity and regret.

They headed to their hotel not much later wanting to catch up on their rest ready for the next day. Reid settled himself in his room as usual well used to all this travelling. Once he had settled he began to read the case files that Garcia again and just like everyone else, the more he read, the more desperate he was to catch these unsubs for what they had done to so many girls.

It was late when he stopped reading and looked around, he decided to go out and get some coffee rather than use the hotel stuff which he knew from experience did not taste that good. He rode the elevator down pondering the case in silence before he stepped out into the lobby. He headed straight for the doors before he paused as he heard a gentle laugh and he looked over to see Livie curled up on one of the sofas talking to someone on her phone smiling as she listened to what they were saying.

She spotted him standing there and grinned to him beckoning him over as she spoke again. "Sounds like fun little one make sure you whoop his ass ok … yeah I always whooped his ass at laser tag… yeah Lexie did too" she smiled "anyway munchkin it's late and I have to go… yes I promise I will come visit you soon, don't worry Lexie and I have something fun planned for you… no it won't be a surprise if I tell you" she laughed again "ok talk soon Kale, love you baby girl… ok bye honey."

Slowly she hung up and looked at him "you're up late" she commented "was going for coffee" he said and she smiled "yeah it kinda sucks here doesn't it" he nodded "you are also up late" he noted and she smiled "well Kaylee likes to talk regularly so she calls every Wednesday and I call every Friday, there was very little reception in my room so I bought the call down here" he nodded "it is Monday" he said and she looked at him "who calls on a Monday" he asked and she ducked her head "not part of the schedule" she said "I just needed to talk to her"

"Because she is near the age range of the victims" Reid asked. Livie shrugged "and I just wanted to hear her laugh, it is one of those sounds that just makes you feel happy, do you know what I mean." Reid reddened before he nodded ducking his head as he thought of her laugh. When he looked up she had her head ducked and was staring at the floor her knees drawn up to her chest with her arms wrapped round them. A very defensive posture that he had seen surviving victims make many times.

"Are you ok" he asked and she looked up at him almost blankly "yeah" she said "this case just brings up painful memories that's all" he looked at her "from where" he asked and she gave him a weak smile "lets just say neither of us had… easy childhoods Spence" he ducked his head at the little nickname she had just given him "but you have a loving mother and siblings and a stepdad" he said "it sounds pretty nice to me"

She sighed "I didn't have that until I was thirteen, before then it was just me and my mom, we were so close" she paused and a smile slipped onto her face "I never knew who my father was but I didn't care because I had my mom, sometimes it was so easy to forget that she was my mom and that she was responsible for me, she was more like my best friend than anything else"

Reid smiled gently "sounds nice" he said "it was" she said softly "but things change" "yes" he agreed "they do". For a few moments they sat in silence before Livie looked up at him "come on then" she said and she leapt to her feet "where" he asked "well you wanted coffee and we are in Boston" she said "lets go explore." "Um I don't know we have to be up early tomorrow" he said awkwardly. She gave him a look as she tugged him to his feet "I am not suggesting we walk the entire way round Boston, lets just get out of the hotel and clear our heads" Reid made to protest but she had already grabbed his hand and yanked him out of the hotel.

Slowly they walked side by side down the road until they came to a coffee shop where they each bought a warm beverage and continued their walk in silence enjoying the sights until Reid questioned "um what is laser tag". Livie laughed "it is a game my dad has played with all of us, you wear a vest and you have a little gun and you have to try and shoot the other person's vest, very fun, our dad has had on going competitions with us all, first to one thousand wins, Kaylee and he have just passed 500, so dad won't go gentle on her anymore" Reid smiled "sounds fun" he said and Livie nodded "did your dad not play with you" she asked.

Reid shook his head "No my father abandoned my mother and I when I was ten and he was a lawyer so he worked an awful lot before then, he never contacted me again after he left and I only met up with him again a few years ago" "sounds tough on you" Livie said. "Was a bit" he said "but I got through it, I graduated school when I was twelve and had completed my undergraduate degree by the time I was sixteen and after that I was just focused on my learning and it was easier, facts I find are simpler than people"

Livie stopped and stared at him "wait a minute you graduated high school when you were twelve" she said and he nodded "so what did you do between getting your degree and joining the FBI" she asked and he shuffled his feet "I um got three doctorates and two bachelor degrees" he said and Livie stared "wow Spence" she eventually managed "you really are a genius". He reddened again and wondered how she managed to make him blush so easily.

"So why did you join the FBI" she asked and he paused to think "I don't know" he said "I guess I wanted to make a difference and this felt right" he looked at her curiously "what about you". A small smile slipped onto her face as she looked down the street "when I was thirteen I … well something happened to me and I struggled to get over it and in the two years it took for me to get over it I saw two psychologists, one of them was for a proper like session but the other worked with my friend's dad at the FBI in DC, he worked as a forensic psychologist and he gave the occasional profile. Anyway he was kind to me and he helped me get over what happened to me, he helped me stop being afraid of the demons who taunted me and then he showed me what he did, how he got into a criminal's mind and it fascinated me, I realised that psychology had really helped me and I wanted it to help other people but I wanted to do something with crime so … here I am"

Reid nodded "does what happened to you still hurt you" he asked and she looked at him "from time to time" she said softly "do you ever talk about them" he asked "because Freud's talking cure is very useful for helping people" he said "more depression than trauma though" she pointed out with a smile, she looked at him before she softly said "I tell people what happened to me yes, I feel that they should know because it has made me who I am so people should know" she paused and looked away "but I wait until I know the people and I know they wont judge me because of it or label me as weak". Reid stared at her uncertainly not sure of what to say "I don't think you could ever be classed as weak" he eventually said before he ducked his head.

He waited a moment before he looked up to see her smiling at him "thanks" she said and he nodded uncertain of what to say again. "Come on" she said softly "lets go back so we can get some sleep and find Stella" she turned and headed back towards the hotel and Reid quickly followed her "you know the chances of us finding her alive after 48 hours is very slim" don't you" he said "she has been missing 54 hours now". Livie looked at him "I know" she said "but I know that she will still be fighting, she won't give up" she ducked her head and muttered so quietly that Reid nearly missed it but just caught it "we never give up"

The rest of the walk was completed in silence until they arrived at the hotel and rode the elevator up to their floor and they walked down the hall until Livie paused "well this is my room" she said as she pulled her key card out of her pocket, she slotted it in and opened the door before she smiled at him "goodnight Spence" she said softly "until tomorrow". He gave her an uncertain smile before he managed to stutter out "g goodnight… Livie" and with another smile she closed the door.

He stood there for a minute before he moved to his own room and he paused outside to look back at her closed door before he too whispered "until tomorrow"

"_**The story of life is quicker than the wink of an eye, the story of love is hello and goodbye...until we meet again" Jimi Hendrix**_


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi everyone sorry this took so long. Was away in Turkey so hard to find time to write. Enjoy and please let me know what you think.**

Chapter 4

"_**Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth" Henry David Thoreau**_

The next morning Reid headed down to breakfast to find most of the team already assembled with the files out next to their plates, he quickly filled his own plate before he joined the table. "Reid I want you to work on narrowing the comfort zone today" Hotch said "we are running out of time to find Stella Davis and we need to keep hunting but we don't have enough man power" Reid nodded "I can probably narrow it down more with Garcia's help, if she can give me more information about the past cases" Hotch nodded "we will set up a video conference with her when we arrive" he said.

Emily appeared just then with Livie right behind her "hey newbie" Morgan said leaning back in his chair "how did you sleep" he smirked in a way that made Reid think he knew something he didn't. Livie shrugged "not bad" she said "so the traffic didn't keep you awake" Rossi asked "because it usually does" Livie smiled "grew up in New York remember" she said "it was actually very comforting to hear traffic" she looked around "please tell me the coffee is better here than it is in the rooms" she said and JJ laughed as she handed her a cup "know how you feel" she said.

Livie took the cup smiling before she glanced at Reid and their eyes met and she grinned at him and he smiled uncertainly back before he dropped his eyes back to his plate as the talks continued.

"All the evidence suggests a team" Rossi said "and it is the usual team consisting of a dominant and a submissive" "they probably started their killing sprees in late adolescence, maybe around the age of 17, after that they kept going" Hotch said looking at the file, he looked up at Morgan "have Garcia find their first location and look at their records" he said "see if the police questioned anybody, then I want you, Emily and Livie to go to the neighbours houses and see if they can remember anything" Morgan nodded and headed off to call Garcia.

They all headed to the police precinct to check in with the police but upon finding that there was nothing new Morgan, Emily and Livie all headed off to interview neighbours whilst Rossi, Hotch and JJ all settled down to read the new case files whilst Reid tried to narrow his comfort zone with what Garcia told him and what the others told him from the case files. They worked solidly determined to find Stella alive.

XO

Morgan forced a smile onto his face "well thank you for your time ma'am if you think of anything else could you please give us a call" he held out his card to the old lady who took it before she shut the door and he groaned before he turned to look at Livie who was standing behind him. "Are all the neighbours going to be as unhelpful as the ones we have interviewed already" she asked and he sighed "most likely yes" he said and she smiled as they moved towards the next house where Emily joined them having had no such luck at her house and they rang the bell at the next house.

It was answered by a young women who looked at them curiously. "Hello ma'am" Morgan said politely "my name is Special Agent Derek Morgan with the FBI Behavioural Analysis Unit and this is Special Agent Emily Prentiss and Agent Olivia Beckett, we were wondering if you could spare us a few minutes of your time to talk about the abduction of Lucy Walters and the murder of her parents"

The women paused before she nodded and stepped aside to let them in. "What is your name" Emily asked gently "Sarah Ryan" she responded as she led them down the hall. "Did you know the Walters family well" Morgan asked "yes" Sarah said softly "my daughter Sophie is the same age as Lucy and they used to play together in the street all the time."

She stepped into a spacious living room where they saw a little six year old girl sitting on a bean bag hugging a toy horse tightly as she stared at the TV. When she heard them enter she looked up uncertainly with her big brown eyes curious. She was cute with long light brown hair pulled back into two pigtails and a sweet round face. "Sophie these people are with the police honey and they are here to talk to mommy" Sarah said softly.

Morgan looked at Livie and jerked his head towards the little girl. Livie smiled and nodded before she moved forward and crouched next to the little girl. "Hi Sophie, I'm Livie" she said softly and Sophie stared at her uncertainly "I like your horse" Livie said "does he have a name" "Shadow" Sophie mumbled quietly "oh that's a lovely name" Livie said smiling "do you like horses" Sophie nodded "I had a horse when I was little" Livie continued and she reached into her pocket to pull out her purse and she tugged an old dog eared picture out of a dapped grey horse and offered it to Sophie who smiled "she pretty" she mumbled "yes she was, she was called Skye and she was very cheeky" Livie said.

Sophie nuzzled her cheek against Shadow's face "I have a pony called Skye" she whispered "do you want to see" Livie grinned "yes please Sophie" she said and Sophie looked at her mother who nodded to her before she stood up and grabbed Livie's hand and dragged her into the next room where there were hundreds of toy ponies lying on the floor. She grabbed a white one and held it up to Livie "that's Skye" she said and Livie grinned as she stroked it before she knelt down "what's this one called" she asked and instantly Sophie brightened and she sat down and began to tell Livie the names of all the ponies.

Morgan turned back to the girl's mother "so Sophie and Lucy played together" he checked and Sarah nodded "almost every day" she said "we could barely tear them apart, if it rained then they would go to one of their houses and play for hours until we called them home" she sighed and looked into the room where Sophie played chattering to Livie "I don't know how to tell her she won't see her best friend again" she said softly, she smiled gently "I think that is the first time she has really smiled since … Lucy … died, she really misses her, that agent seems to know what she is doing"

Emily smiled "Livie has a little sister around that age so I think she knows how to look after her" Sarah nodded "did you know Lucy's parents well" Morgan asked and she shrugged "well enough, when we went to collect our daughters we always invited the other in for a drink so we talked regularly, Liz was kind and understanding, she always helped me out with Sophie if I needed… Sophie's father died" she explained "he was a Marine in Afghanistan" "I'm sorry for your loss" Morgan said before he gently continued "did you see Elizabeth Walters the day of her death" he asked. Sarah nodded "yes I had to work late and she collected Sophie for me from school and kept her till I got home, it was very late, Sophie was asleep on their sofa"

Morgan glanced at Emily "did she seem stressed or agitated at all" he asked Sarah thought before she shook her head "no she seemed fine, happy and understanding". "You said it was late" Emily said "do you happen to remember what time" "um about nine ish" Sarah said "someone didn't turn up for their shift so I had to cover for them until I could call someone in to replace them, I went straight over and picked Sophie up and took her straight home to bed"

Morgan nodded before he leaned forward "did you see anything suspicious when you picked Sophie up" he asked "anything out of the ordinary at all" Sarah looked at him "in what way" she asked and Emily stepped in "maybe someone standing there watching on the sidewalk or someone walking a dog you have never seen before or maybe a car parked nearby"

Sarah thought "no I don't think so" she said slowly and Morgan leant back defeated before perking up as she said "wait yes now you mention it there was something… a car… a car parked near their house that I had never seen before, I didn't think anything of it because I thought one of the other neighbours might have company but now I think about it I remember seeing two guys inside it". "Do you think you can describe them" Morgan asked and she shook her head "no I am sorry it was dark and the street lamp was out I could only see their silhouettes"

"What about the car" Emily asked "can you describe that" she thought again "it was dark coloured, I think it was one of those old station wagons with the large trunks do you know" "was there anything discernable about it" Emily coached gently and she closed her eyes thinking "it … had a bumper sticker… above the exhaust … of some kind of big cat, maybe a tiger… I don't know it was dark"

Morgan looked at Emily who nodded "thank you Ms Ryan you have been a great help" he said as he stood "yo kid time to go" he called and Livie looked up from where she was sitting with Sophie perched on her knee playing ponies. Slowly she stood up and moved back into the living room.

"Thank you Ms Ryan for all your help and could you please give us a call if you remember anything else" Morgan said and handed her his card, she nodded as she took it "thank you" she said "please catch them" "we will" Emily promised and she smiled "Sophie say goodbye" she urged and Sophie waved "bye Livie" she said shyly and Livie grinned "bye Sophie" she said "look after all those ponies ok". Sophie nodded and waved them out of the house. Instantly they headed back to their car as and Emily filled Livie in as Morgan called Hotch.

"Have you found something Morgan" their boss asked "yeah Hotch" Morgan said as he clambered into the car "we got something, we got a description of their car so put a BOLO out on a dark coloured Station wagon with a big cat bumper sticker" "good work you guys" Hotch said "come back now so we can debrief and release a profile" Morgan agreed and hung up gunning the engine "good job with the kid newbie" he said and Livie grinned "I actually had fun" she said and Emily laughed as they pulled away

XO

"We are looking for two unsubs" Hotch said staring at the police officers assembled in front of him writing down what he was saying. "They are male and the evidence suggests that they have been doing this for at least eight years so they are in our opinion at least 25 but could be slightly older or younger"

He looked over at Morgan who stepped forward to continue "these unsubs have been doing this for a very long time and this makes them a very effective team. The dominant unsub knows his authority and the submissive one does not question it. They are both physically fit enough to hold down the parents who struggle as they die. The dominant unsub is pretty meticulous as these victims are high risk victims, they were taken from crowded neighbourhoods quickly and efficiently so the abductions are well planned and organised. The dominant unsub kills the father who he views as the main danger, he wants to express his authority over them as he kills them and does not want his follower to mess it up. He is also the one who is most likely to actually abduct the girl, suggesting he gets some sort of thrill from the power he has over them. They were spotted in their car waiting outside the house of Lucy Walters hours before her abduction suggesting they are both very patient"

Rossi stepped forward to take over "these unsubs keep the girls alive as long as they are interesting to them so we don't have much time. Look for those who don't belong, who watch little girls in public places and keep your eyes peeled for their car as that is the only identifying thing we have on them"

The uniforms all nodded before they headed off to their duties. "Emily, Morgan I want you to go see if anyone else recognises that car" Hotch said "go to Elena James' house, take Livie with you, Rossi, JJ and I will go to Annabelle Matthews house" Morgan nodded "come on kid" he said and they all grabbed their coats and the keys and headed out the door. "Reid stay here, update Garcia on what we know" Hotch said and Reid nodded happy to stay and work with facts and figures rather than questions and answers as the rest of his team preferred to do.

XO

Livie was quiet in the back of the car as they drove back from their interview, Elena James and her family had lived just outside of Boston and it was a bit of a drive back into the city. Upon asking the neighbours about the car most of them remembered seeing it the night that the James family had been murdered.

"So how's things with Reid" Morgan asked and Livie looked at him "what" she asked blankly and he grinned slyly at her in the rear view mirror "mmhm I saw the two of you last night sneaking out for a walk, what happened there then" Livie rolled her eyes "we went to get coffee cus it sucked in the hotel that is all, he was going out and I was talking to my sister in the lobby and we ended up both going for coffee nothing more"

"Mmhm" Morgan said again with a twinkle in his eye "doesn't take forty five minutes to get coffee" "Morgan were you spying on them" Emily asked "no I just happened to be sat by my window reading a book and I might have noticed them leaving and then returning forty five minutes later" he said grinning. "Morgan" Emily scolded "leave her be"

Livie smiled "is it against the rules to go out for a walk and a talk" she asked "nope but be careful" Morgan warned "if Strauss catches on that you two have been getting close she will fire one of you, most likely you"

Livie nodded "I know" she said "but there isn't anything going on between us, we are just good friends" Emily looked back at her "hey" she said "we have all known Reid for a long time and we have seen him struggle to be understood, then you come along and somehow you understand him instantly and from what I have seen, he seems to understand you better than anybody else, I think you two are a little more than friends". Livie smiled gently before she looked out the window and her eyes widened at the same time she and Emily yelled "Morgan _stop_"

Morgan slammed his feet on the breaks and the car jerked sharply to a stop. Slowly he turned in his seat to face them. "What" he asked "you nearly gave me a heart attack". But Livie wasn't listening and she had already unbuckled her seat belt and was opening the door and before they could stop her she was sprinting across the road ignoring the blaring horns of the cars. "Jesus is she trying to get herself killed" Morgan swore as he leapt out followed by Emily and they leapt across the road holding up hands to slow the cars to they could cross. They found Livie staring down the bank on the other side. "Hey kid what the hell" Morgan demanded but Livie didn't respond she just pointed and they followed her gaze to see a dark blue station wagon parked amongst the trees. And above the exhaust they could see a bumper sticker in the shape of something feline.

Slowly Morgan pulled out his gun and began to head down the bank ducking behind trees. Emily and Livie looked at each other before they too drew their guns and followed him to the car as he checked it. "Clear" he said softly "do you think he dumped it" Emily asked peering in the back "no" Morgan said and she looked over to see him crouched next to Livie and they were studying the ground "tracks" he said looking up "heading into the woods"

They all looked at each other before slowly they all began to move away from the road following the tracks deeper into the woods. Morgan was just beginning to think that the car had been abandoned and that they were following a cold trail when he heard a sound up ahead and instantly he froze raising a hand signalling the others to stop.

Slowly they crept forward pressing themselves against the trees until they came to a clearing and they peered round the trees to see a man in a large hoodie tossing dirt into a hole hurriedly. And lying in the hole was something wrapped in a blanket, waiting to be buried.

Morgan looked at Livie and mimed for her to stay where she was and once she had nodded he looked at Emily and slowly they moved out from behind their trees and approached the figure.

"Don't move" Morgan said, his voice quiet and dangerous "FBI, make so much as a move and we will put you in that hole". The man froze where he was and they all saw him tense "ok" Emily said "I want you to drop that shovel now turn around and get down on the ground do you hear me" the man didn't move, he just stood there. "Hey" Morgan said sharply "do as she said now".

Slowly he turned halfway before suddenly he swung the shovel out spraying Morgan and Emily in dirt causing them to cover their eyes and in those few seconds they were disorientated, he bolted.

Cursing Morgan shouted "Livie stay with the site and call for backup" and then he and Emily took off after the suspect. They hurtled through the woods leaping over logs and fallen branches struggling to keep their suspect in sight. They both instinctively ducked as there was a loud crack and they saw him pointing a hand gun in their general direction. Cursing they both swung their guns up and fired at him and Emily saw him stagger and clutch his side but he didn't slow and fired at them before he swerved sideways and headed for the road.

They took off after him and they saw him pause before he ran out and caught hold of the side of a lorry leaping onto it as it moved past. Yelling Emily and Morgan both chased it shouting at the driver to stop before they slowed when they realised it was pointless. "Dammit" Morgan shouted as Emily reached for her radio and called it in, warning officers of everything they knew before she and Morgan moved back the way they had come towards their car before they ducked back into the trees to find Livie.

They found her sitting on the ground next to the hole, a dead look on her face but her eyes were angry and upset. "Hey" Morgan said moving over "what is it kid are you ok". She looked at him unhappily before she regained herself and she sighed "we were too late" she said softly and she looked towards the hole.

Slowly Emily and Morgan moved over and looked in, Livie had obviously looked but had covered it back up so Morgan slowly crouched down and reached into the shallow hole and carefully lifted back the blanket and groaned hearing Emily sigh angrily from behind as they took in the sight.

Resting in the shallow grave curled up on her side was a tiny little girl of five years old. She looked almost peaceful, like she was sleeping with her legs tucked underneath her and her hand curled up next to her chest. Apart from her eyes; wide open and unseeing. The way her hair was arranged around her, splayed out in strawberry blonde waves around her head framing her delicate features seemed so sweet and innocent. Apart from the fact that her hair was covered in blood staining her curls a brilliant red which was making them look matted and untidy. From where her head had been thrown against a wall, cracking her skull. Killing her instantly.

Slowly Morgan replaced the blanket over her before he slowly stood up and reached into his pocket and he pulled out his phone dialling his boss' number.

Hotch answered after one ring "Morgan what is it have you found something" "yeah Hotch" Morgan said looking back into the grave "you can call off the search for Stella Davis… we found her". "Is she alright" Hotch asked concerned and Morgan sighed "no" he said heavily "no Hotch… we were too late… she's dead"

XO

They waited until the crime scene unit arrived and were scanning the area before they headed back to their car and drove back to the headquarters. Livie barely spoke during that time and Morgan watched her in the rear view mirror "was that your first dead body" he asked gently and Livie looked at him almost blankly before she registered what he had said and she shook her head "no" she said "well my first dead child" she added "but not my first dead body"

Morgan looked at her "you know one day you are gonna have to tell us how you have seen so much yet have only just graduated from college" Livie smiled weakly "I will" she said "but not yet" and she returned her gaze to out the window and the rest of the drive progressed in silence.

When they arrived everyone was waiting for them in the room they had been given and they entered quietly and settled themselves in some seats. Emily noticed how Livie headed to a seat next to Reid and how their boy genius looked at her questioningly obviously concerned. She smiled reassuringly at him and patted his hand gently before she turned to Hotch as he asked what had happened and they told him all that they remembered "I think one of us shot him, or at least grazed him, he was holding his side as he ran off" Emily said.

Hotch nodded and looked at JJ "alert all hospitals and medical centres in the area and tell them to be on the lookout for someone with a gun shot wound" JJ nodded and slipped out of the room to make the phone calls. Once the door had closed Hotch looked back at his agents "did you get a good look at his face" he asked and all three of them shook their heads "he was wearing a hoodie" Morgan said "it covered his face"

"We need to identify him" Hotch said "they killed Stella Davis and that means they are going to be on the prowl for another victim tonight and we can't let them get another little girl" everyone nodded in agreement. "Reid where are we with the comfort zone" he asked and the young genius leapt to his feet "well I narrowed it down as much as I can without running the possibility of missing something. I made one for the last three cities that they were in too and used that to help narrow down this one"

He pointed to the map and to a large red circle "that is still a lot of ground Reid" Rossi said "I know but that is it, they have a large comfort zone, larger than any of their other comfort zones have been, it is like they are comfortable here, they know the area so they attack all over" he looked at them all. "What does that mean" Emily asked and Reid shrugged "I don't know yet" he confessed.

Hotch sighed and looked at his watch "lets get some food" he said "we will work a bit longer here before we head back, the ME said he wouldn't get the autopsy done until tomorrow morning at the latest" he stood up "I want you guys to carry on, I will get the food" he looked down the table "Livie would you like to come with me"

The young brunette looked up at him and nodded before she slowly slipped to her feet and grabbed her jacket following him out of the station.

Hotch waited until they were on their way back clutching bags of Chinese food before he spoke. "Are you ok" he asked and she looked up "I'm fine" she said softly "the first time is always the hardest" Hotch said gently "that wasn't my first dead body" she said ducking her head. "I know" Hotch said and she paused stopping and he stopped too looking at her as she gave a small smile.

"You read my file" she commented and he nodded "I had too before I could approve JJ's choice of you as our intern" he said, she smiled "I don't mind, I guessed you would of" she said and she fiddled with the bags before she looked up at him again. "So… you know what happened to me… right" Hotch paused before he nodded sadly "you have been through a lot" he said and she nodded "are you sure you are ok to work this case" he asked "I contacted the psychologist in DC before I approved you" Livie smiled "you spoke to Sweets" she said "bet that wasn't a short conversation". Hotch cracked a smile "he told me about how you struggled to get over it, how you were traumatised". "I got over it" Livie said "I am fine" he looked at her "seriously" she said "it barely bothers me anymore, on the anniversary of the day it happens yes it bothers me, but I am fine now Hotch I swear"

Hotch looked into her eyes, wide and pleading and he sighed "I shouldn't let you carry on" he said "but from what Sweets told me you are hard to stop" she grinned "I get that from my mom" she said and he looked at her "you can keep working on this case on two conditions" she hesitated eyeing him warily.

"I want you to promise me that if you ever feel like you are having a bad day, you come and tell me" he said "we are a family and we look out for our family" Livie smiled and nodded "I promise" she said "what is the other thing". He looked her straight in the eye "don't let this become personal" he said "don't let this become a vendetta" she looked at him long and hard before she nodded "I don't need revenge" she said "I got it ages ago, all I want now is justice for those who deserve it"

Hotch looked at her again before he nodded "ok" he said and slowly they continued their walk back to the station. As they walked he gently suggested "you should tell the others about what happened to you, they won't judge you, they will understand" she smiled at him "I will" she said "when I feel ready" he nodded at her and they entered the station and moved to their room to find Garcia on conference call typing furiously "what happened" Hotch asked a very pissed looking Morgan

"Someone broke into the impound lot" he said "they burned the car, the station wagon, all the evidence is gone" Hotch swore under his breath "Garcia" he asked "sir I am scanning through the security feed as we speak looking for whoever did this" she said "ah ha gotcha" she added "sending it to your tablets"

They all looked at their tablets as a video popped up showing a figure in a dark hoodie limping determinedly down the rows of cars before he flashed out of sight, a couple of minutes later he reappeared half staggering, half running in the opposite direction. "The police found a hole in the fence that he entered and exited through" Emily said "they tried to stop the fire but it was too late, but that is definitely the guy we saw in the woods, and it looks like we definitely hit him, he was struggling to walk"

Hotch nodded "Garcia can you get anything from that video on our unsub" he asked "erm not really the video is really grainy, I will see what I can do to try and clean it up, I might be able to give you a predictive height" she said "you do that" Hotch said and she nodded "I'll buzz ya when I have something, over and out" she said before she ended the connection.

"Well this is great huh" Morgan said "we don't need this, that car was all we had, I have requested any photos the crime scene unit might have taken but they didn't take many" Emily said looking grumpy. Livie looked up before she tugged her phone out of her pocket and after a few seconds in which she tapped at the screen she lay it down to show a picture of the bumper sticker. Everyone looked at her and she smiled sheepishly "thought it might come in useful" she said. "Good job kid" Morgan said and gave her a thump on the back "send it to Garcia and we can see what she gets from it" Hotch said and Livie nodded before she did as he asked.

They ate their food looking at the case files until the station began to empty around them. Then slowly they picked up their things and headed back to the hotel where they all retired to their rooms.

Livie sat looking at the files on the tablet she had been given when she joined the team, she flicked slowly through the pages before she stopped and then she found herself looking at the pictures of all the little girls they had killed. She stared at the images of their smiling faces before she sighed and exited those files. She clicked on another one. Her own one and found herself flicking through the pages and as she read it and saw the images she felt a few tears trickle down her cheeks at the painful memories.

She was startled by an angry banging on her door followed by the sound of Morgan shouting "yo kid get up we have to go". Frowning she slipped off the bed and opened the door "Morgan" she questioned "what is going on" he looked at her with anger on his face as he spoke and Livie felt her stomach clench as he told her the problem.

"They took another kid… but not just any kid… they took Sophie, Sophie Ryan, the little girl whose mother told her about the car … she's gone…"

"_**A simple child that lightly draws its breath and feels its life in every limb. What should it know about death?" Wordsworth**_

**Hope you enjoyed that. Please review and I promise I will try to update soon**

**Feel free to message me with any questions or suggestions.**

**Thanks**

**Mysticgirl**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi everyone thanks soo much for the reviews; they really made my day. Please keep them coming. Hope you enjoy this chapter.**

Chapter 5

"_**Monsters are real and ghosts are real too. They live inside of us, and sometimes, they win" Stephan King**_

The house was surrounded by flashing lights and uniforms, trying to hold back the curious neighbours when they arrived. Hotch quickly slipped out and pushed his way through the crowd with his team right behind him. Captain Soloman spotted him and waved them all under the police line. "Glad you are here" he said "the neighbours are going into a panic, these guys have struck twice in this neighbourhood now, they are really worried, most of those who have young children have packed up and left already". Hotch nodded "JJ, Rossi, Emily see what you can do to calm these people down, then come inside."

He jerked his head to Morgan, Reid and Livie and they all headed into the house slowly heading up the stairs to the main bedroom where they found the medical examiner bending over Sarah Ryan's dead body which lay amongst the twisted sheets as she had struggled against their unsubs. Hotch studied the body "do we know what time she died" he asked "the neighbours heard a scream at about 11pm last night" Captain Soloman said "then they heard a screech of tyres and saw a van fleeing the scene, they got worried and called the police who came over, they found the back door unlocked and they came in to find Ms Ryan dead and her little girl gone"

Hotch nodded before he bent to look at thee mattress "there is blood here" he said "is it Sarah Ryan's" he asked and the medical examiner shook his head "no signs on her body that it is hers" he said "we took a swab of it and sent it over to the lab saying it was a rush job". Hotch nodded. "Looks like she struck out at him causing him to bleed" Morgan said softly and Hotch turned to the three agents behind him "let's go see Sophie's room" he said and they nodded before they turned and walked down the hall into the little girl's room.

Livie looked around the room feeling an aching sadness at the thought of the sweet little girl she had sat and played with yesterday in the hands of a killer. She looked around the room, at the toy dollhouse with dolls scattered around it, at the little dressing table covered in plastic jewellery. At the toy riding yard with the same ponies she had been playing with yesterday all neatly lined up. And at the picture of two little girls sitting in the grass side by side laughing at the camera. Sophie and her best friend Lucy Walters.

Livie picked the picture up and stared at it sighing before she set it back down looking around. Then she noticed the stuffed horse lying on the floor next to the bed. The same stuffed horse that she had seen Sophie hugging the first time they had met. The grey stuffed horse she called Shadow. She bent and picked it up stroking it gently before she looked at the rest of the team to see them staring sorrowfully at her. "The MO appears to be exactly the same" Morgan said and Hotch looked at him "come on" he said "we aren't going to get much more from here, lets head back to the station and check in with Garcia"

Nodding they headed back downstairs and assessed the point of entry as through the back door which had a pane of window smashed. Then they headed out to find JJ trying to control the press that had turned up, giving a statement asking for everyone to keep an eye out for Sophie Ryan and to alert the police if they saw anyone acting suspiciously.

Once she was done they all slipped back towards the car ignoring the reporters trying to ask for more information. A they drove off Reid noticed that Livie was still clutching Sophie's toy horse and she was gently stroking the soft fur, her eyes sad and angry at the same time. Hotch didn't comment on the fact that she had taken the horse, he just allowed it and it seemed to spur them all on. So that they could reunite the little girl with her beloved toy.

Once they had arrived back at the station they called Garcia and found that she had gotten the message and had come in. She looked groggy but determined. "Garcia do you have anything for us" Hotch asked "sir I am running that bumper sticker image you sent me through every database I can think of but without anything to narrow it down by then it is hard for me to find it" the tech analysis said looking rather desperate. Morgan groaned "we are running out of time" he said "they changed the dumping site to in the woods because they obviously knew we were here, they know they are going to be running out of time so they are not going to want to keep Sophie very long knowing that we will be closing in on them" "well until that DNA comes back there is not very much we can do" Emily said urgently and they all knew she was right.

"Emily go sit on forensics until they get the results" Hotch said and Emily nodded and she slipped out. JJ's phone rang and she pulled it out "the press are all over this" she said hitting decline "and that is causing a mass panic". "Well the best thing we can do is try and solve this and bring Sophie home safely" Hotch said "Garcia does Sophie Ryan have any family that should be notified". "Erm" Garcia said typing furiously before she paused "no" she said softly "both sets of grandparents are dead, both parents were only children" she looked at them "what will happen to her when we find her" she asked and Livie looked at Hotch "she won't have to go into foster care will she" she asked. Hotch didn't answer, he just looked like he was deep in thought.

They sat there mulling over theories as JJ ran in and out trying to keep the press under control. It was almost dawn before Emily returned and they had all slumped forward too exhausted to think so they were all startled when Emily came crashing into the room shouting "we got the DNA results and we have a match". They all jumped sitting upright blinking groggily before they realised what she had said.

"Garcia" Emily said "run the name Lucas Clark" "on it my amazing sexy agentess" Garcia said "ok Lucas Clark 26 grew up in Naperville which is a small town in Illinois, not that far from Chicago" "which is where the first killings were" Morgan finished "yes that's right oh he was the victim of extreme child abuse from a very early age right up until he was 14 when he was removed from his family and bounced from foster home to foster home all over the place".

"What kind of abuse Garcia" Emily asked "ek physical and sexual from his father, that's horrible" the tech analyst said as she dove deep into their suspect's past "explains why he was driven to abusing these children, he wanted some control" Hotch said "do we know if he is the dominant one or the submissive one" Morgan asked and Hotch shook his head, "what if he met his partner in foster care" Livie asked quietly "it would explain why they are so close"

"Good" Hotch said "Garcia we need a list of every foster home Lucas Clark has ever been to and every other child that was there at the time, see if there are any cases of abuse there too" "on it" Garcia said "but that might be a pretty long list… yikes". "What" Hotch asked "his credit card was just used at a supermarket a few blocks from you" she said "buying a lot of pharmaceuticals" "he is in pain" Morgan said "we shot him and he needs medical help but cant go to the doctors"

"He won't be able to buy much at a supermarket" Reid said "they limit how much you can buy, he will try and buy more elsewhere" "lets go" Hotch said "Garcia send us the location, everyone wears vests ok, we are going hunting, JJ alert all available units, tell them to keep it quiet though" JJ nodded and rushed off to quickly tell Captain Soloman what they had found as everyone else rushed off to the cars grabbing their vests and strapping them on.

As he drove Hotch looked in the back at Livie and Reid, Reid was deep in thought calculating everything whilst Livie was finishing strapping on her vest her eyes determined "you two stick close" he told them "and watch each other's back" they both nodded before they glanced at each other and something passed between them, a look of understanding, the feeling of trust, a shared sense of resolution that they were not going to let this guy get away, whatever the costs.

XO

When they arrived at the location everyone leapt out of the cars scanning the area for any sight of Lucas Clark "Spread out" Hotch said "Rossi, Emily, JJ, you take over there, Morgan, Livie, Reid and I will take over here, stay in contact and stick together" everyone nodded before they headed off to search the area.

They slowly moved down the street their eyes combing for a sight of their unsub. Just when they were beginning to lose hope Morgan's phone rang and he quickly answered it "hey Garcia" he said his eyes still flashing around "really" he said "ok thanks baby girl" he hung up and looked at Hotch "Garcia says his credit card was used again just now in the pharmacy" he said. Instantly they rushed over and peered in to see Lucas Clark standing at the counter paying for a bag of medical supplies "Livie Reid let the others know where we are then get as many people as you can to safety, we need to do this without anyone else getting hurt" Livie and Reid nodded as Reid lifted a hand to his ear and quickly told Rossi and the others where they were.

Slowly Hotch and Morgan slipped into the pharmacy and slowly made their way towards the counter pretending to peruse the shelves as they did so. They heard the bell ring and then Livie and Reid entered and he saw them both move towards a mother and her two children and murmur to her to get out before they moved on passing on the message and Hotch was relieved to see some of the people slip out.

Looking over he saw Clark turn away from the counter his eyes flashing about uncertainly and Morgan and Hotch instantly feigned looking at the shelves using their jackets to cover their badges and guns. His eyes then flashed to Livie and Reid who were still standing near the doorway and they narrowed suspiciously. Livie seemed to sense that because she let out a very fake giggle and leaned against Reid who looked positively startled by the interaction but one quick pinch in the ribs from Livie encouraged him to force a fake smile onto his face and awkwardly wrap an arm around her as they stumbled forward.

"Last night was fun" Livie gushed looking up at Reid though Hotch could tell she was acutely aware of Clark still watching them suspiciously. "Can we do it again tonight" she asked and Reid blushed before he uncertainly nodded not used to this acting thing and it was showing and Hotch could tell Clark didn't believe it. He looked at Morgan and nodded before they both turned ready to move on Clark.

They both saw Clark move forward again, his eyes still on Livie and Reid as though trying to analyse if they were threats and it seemed he thought they were. His hand twitched under his jacket and Morgan and Hotch both stiffened before Livie realised the danger and stood straight and turned to Reid. She looked him squarely in the eyes before she pushed him backwards into the doorway blocking Clark's exit, reached up and kissed him solidly on the lips.

Clark paused eyeing them again as they stood there blocking his escape. Reid had frozen in shock, his hands hovering in mid air before they gently ended up at Livie's waist pulling her closer as she slipped her hands up from his shoulders to grab a handful of his hair. Hotch glanced over at Morgan who looked surprised, he looked back at him with a look that plainly said 'wow was not expecting that' before they both looked back at Clark and their kissing agents.

Livie and Reid eventually pulled apart and Reid stared at her startled before a small smile slipped onto his face and Livie smiled too. Just then Clark moved forward "do you mind" he asked gruffly and both young agents looked at him before they slowly stepped sideways at the same time the door opened and Rossi came in with Emily and JJ talking loudly.

"Come on JJ" Rossi was saying "the Red Sox are not going to beat the Yankees at their next game, it is practically impossible". "Oh come on David its not impossible" JJ said turning to face him "there is a chance" "yeah" Emily said "don't be such a downer David"

Clark was getting edgy now, they could all see that so Hotch looked over at Livie and Reid and jerked his head at them to step back away from Clark which they did before he and Morgan drew their weapons "Lucas Clark do not move Federal agents" he said firmly.

Clark instantly leapt forward at the same time Rossi, JJ and Emily all pulled out their weapons spreading out so that when Livie and Reid stepped forward with their guns drawn they had him surrounded. Panicked Clark yanked out his gun and pointed it at JJ who was in his direct path to the doorway. When she didn't even flinch he looked round before he jammed the gun against the side of his head "don't come any closer" he warned as horrified gasps echoed from the shoppers who were still in the pharmacy.

"Drop the gun Clark" Morgan said his whole body tense. They all knew that they needed Clark alive, he was their best chance of finding Sophie alive. Clark looked around with wide eyes "Clark you don't have to do this" Rossi warned "yes I do" he gasped "we can't be captured alive; we have to protect each other". "Clark you don't have to do anything for him" Emily said "you don't owe him anything" "yes I do" he said "he looked after me, he protected me". "That doesn't mean you owe him your life" Rossi said "drop the gun and let's get out of here and talk, just talk ok"

Clark shook his head frantically "no" he gasped "no we are not finished yet, she is still alive, and to make sure she dies, I too must die" he squeezed his eyes shut and they all saw his finger tighten on the trigger at the same time Livie shouted out "NO Lucas don't" and his eyes flew open to stare at her. "Don't" she said "you don't want to die" she stared at him "why should you die" "because I have to" he said "no nobody has to die" she said "nobody deserves to die do they" Clark stared at her as Morgan and Emily shifted slightly trying to get behind him as JJ stepped forward.

"She's right Lucas" she said "you don't have to die, why do you think you have to die, did he tell you that you had to" Clark stared at her before he nodded uncertainly "well he was lying Lucas" JJ said gently "he was lying" "no he doesn't lie" Clark shouted and Emily and Morgan shifted round again. "Yes Lucas he does lie, did he tell you those little girls have to die too? Well they don't, they were just innocent little girls, they did not have to die" "yes they did" Clark snapped "he said they did, he said they were destined to die" "No they weren't" JJ said "they were innocent Lucas, they did not deserve to die" "yes they did" he screamed and brought his weapon up again to point at JJ at the same time Livie and Reid both launched for her throwing her clear as Morgan and Emily launched for him.

The gun went off as Livie, JJ and Reid all hit the floor seconds before Clark did with Emily and Morgan, he struggled fiercely until they managed to cuff him, then he fell still not speaking. Hotch and Rossi looked over as groaning Livie, JJ and Reid untangled themselves and Reid staggered upright whilst JJ and Livie just looked at each other before they grinned. "Well that went well" JJ said and Livie laughed before she took Rossi's hand as he hauled her and JJ up "well kid you certainly aren't afraid of danger" he commented and Livie grinned at him before she dusted herself off and looked at Reid who still looked rather dazed.

"Come on lets get him back to the station before people realise who he is and start going for him" Hotch said as Morgan hauled Clark to his feet "good job everyone" he added as they all stepped out of the store and towards their cars "yeah good job kid" Morgan said looking at Livie who smiled "yeah nice kid" Emily said "hell of a kiss" and instantly Livie blushed "you saw that" she asked and Rossi nodded "you were kinda blocking our entrance to the store" he said and Livie smiled sheepishly "first thing I could think of that would block his path" she said

"Yeah I bet that was the first thing that came to mind" Morgan teased earning himself a playful punch on the arm from Livie as he pushed Clark into their car and he Emily and Rossi all slipped in and drove off whilst JJ, Hotch, Livie and Reid headed to the other car. Before they climbed in Livie looked up at Reid to find him still staring at her and she smiled at him uncertainly before slowly he smiled back and they clambered in.

The whole drive back Reid surreptitiously watched Livie as she stared out the window. That kiss had been amazing, it had almost knocked him off his feet; he couldn't believe how amazing it had felt. As he watched he saw Livie raise a hand and brush a finger gently across her lips and a small smile slipped onto her face and he felt warmth in his chest as he stared at her. The first girl in a long while that he had kissed and probably the first girl he had ever really wanted to kiss again.

XO

Clark wasn't talking. He sat there silently as Hotch tried the answers through intimidation method. "Clark" he said "we know you and your partner have been taking the children" he looked at Clark "and we know you have Sophie Ryan" Clark looked slowly up at him and his eyes were blank and expressionless "I don't know what you are talking about" he said coldly.

"Yes you do" Hotch said "you and your partners took her Clark, you took her and you killed her mother". "No" Clark said "yes" Hotch said "where is she Clark" "no" he said again and he began to rock backwards and forwards "where are you keeping her and what are you doing to her" Hotch asked "why are you taking them, is it for fun".

"No" Clark said again "and do you just get bored of them… is that whey you kill them" Hotch continued. "NO" Clark shrieked suddenly slamming his cuffed fists onto the table

Hotch didn't flinch. He just stared at him as he glared at him "I didn't kill them" he hissed "and I am not saying anything else without my lawyer". Hotch considered him before he slowly stood up and moved out of the room shutting the door behind him before he slowly moved into the observation room where he found Livie, JJ and Rossi standing watching.

"He is definitely the submissive unsub" he said "he doesn't want to feel responsible for the girls murders; he got very defensive when I accused him of killing them". They all nodded "Hotch we are running out of time" JJ said "we need to get him to talk" Hotch nodded looking through the mirror at Clark.

"Someone else needs to go in" he said "good cop approach" "I'll go" Rossi volunteered but Hotch shook his head "no I think it would be better if a women went in" he said "he obviously likes women" JJ nodded "shall I go in" she said and Hotch was just about to nod when Livie stepped forward "can I" she asked and they all looked at her in surprise. "Livie" Hotch murmured and she looked him straight in the eye "you know I can connect to him" she said "you know I can get to him and he obviously likes younger girls" he considered her "I know you can, but do you think you can" he said "do you think you can cope?"

Livie looking into the interrogation room at Clark thinking before she looked back at Hotch "yes" she said "if that is what it takes to get Sophie back then yes". Hotch sighed "don't do anything you can't handle" he said "I shouldn't even technically allow you in there but we are running out of time" Livie nodded and took the file before she took a deep breath and slipped into the room.

As she sat down JJ looked at their boss "Hotch I am not sure about this" she said and Hotch clenched his jaw "me neither" he murmured "but do we really have a choice". JJ sighed and they turned back to look at Livie sitting in front of their unsub.

"_**The biggest risk is not taking any risk… In a world that is changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks" Mark Zuckerberg**_

**Hope you enjoyed that. Next chapter will be along soon.**

**Please review. I loved hearing what everyone thought on the last chapter**

**Feel free to inbox with questions and suggestions**

**Thanks **

**Mysticgirl**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi everyone thanks again for the reviews. I am glad you are enjoying this story as much as I am enjoying writing it.**

**A quick note about this chapter: If you remember for the first chapter I said that the character Livie comes from another one of my stories. A Castle based one called Her Secret Life No More. Now in this chapter something that happens to Livie in that story comes up. You don't need to have read it to understand but I just thought I would mention it.**

**Enjoy**

Chapter 6

_**"We do not suffer from the shock of our trauma, but we make out of it what suits our purposes." Alfred Adler**_

Clark looked up as Livie entered and uncertainly flashed his eyes over her. "Hi" Livie said brightly as she sat down on the other side of the table to him "I'm Livie". Clark stared at her blankly before he leaned forward "I'm not saying anything without my lawyer" he said coldly "not you your boss, not to you, nor to anyone else you send in"

Livie shrugged "that's ok" she said "you don't have to say anything; all you have to do is listen." She dropped her gaze to the file in front of her before she tugged out the photos of the little girls and slowly spread them across the table. "Pretty aren't they" she said softly seeing him lean forward slightly to study them "shame that they were killed" she added and she saw him flinch slightly "they would have been beautiful young ladies"

Clark looked back up at her "I didn't kill them" he blurted out and Livie smiled. "I know" she said and he paused eyeing her uncertainly. "You do" he said looking startled. "Yeah" Livie said leaning back in her chair and relaxing her body "I know you didn't kill those girls, it was your partner wasn't it". Instantly he stiffened again clenching his jaw "I won't tell you anything" he said but Livie ignored that comment and kept her voice gentle as she continued.

"You cared about them didn't you Lucas; you didn't hurt them at all did you". Clark eyed her, they could tell he was dying to agree with her but something was stopping him. Livie sighed and dropped her head before she slowly looked back up at him "I saw how you buried Stella in the woods" she said softly "how you lay her down like she was sleeping… how you wrapped her in a blanket, like you were protecting her from the cold… you didn't want them to die did you". Clark stared at her before he dropped his head. "No" he muttered and he began to twist his hands in his lap.

Livie leaned forward keeping her eyes on him "you didn't want them to die" she repeated as she gently pushed Sophie's picture across the table towards him "so why are you letting her die" she asked.

In the observation room Hotch looked over as the door opened and the rest of the team filed in. "Do we have anything" he asked and they all shook their heads. Reid looked over and frowned when he spotted Livie sitting opposite Clark. "Why is she in there?" he asked uncertainly. "Because we are running out of time and she wanted to give him a go" Hotch said watching her "does she have anything to go at him with?" Emily asked looking worried "yes" Hotch said but didn't elaborate any further as he and JJ looked at Livie keenly.

The rest of the team looked at each other before they shrugged "is she even meant to be allowed in there?" Morgan asked and Hotch shook his head without taking his eyes off of the interrogation in front of him "then why is she in there? We are going to get murdered if Strauss finds out" Morgan said. Hotch didn't look away, he just stared at the scene before him. "Because we are running out of time" he eventually said and everyone realised he was right.

Livie looked at Clark as he stared at Sophie's picture "if you don't like him killing the girls then why do you help him" she asked. "I don't" he muttered not looking at her "I don't help him". "You are helping him now Lucas" Livie said "you are helping him by not telling us about him" she looked at him "Lucas why are you protecting him" "because I owe him" he muttered and his lip curled slightly. "Lucas you don't owe him anything" Livie said gently.

"Yes I do" he exploded "I owe him everything, he saved me, he protected me" "you mean in the foster home" Livie asked not flinching at his sudden anger and he glared at her "he looked after you in the foster homes yes, he protected you from the other kids and from the mean foster parents yes"

Clark looked away "yes" he muttered "without him I wouldn't be here, he protected me and so I will protect him". Livie stared at him "Lucas just because he stopped some people beating you up it doesn't mean you owe him your life" she said "you have a life and it is your life to live, why should you waste it doing something you don't want to do". Clark looked up at her "well I don't have a life anymore do I" he said coldly and Livie sighed "I am sure if you cooperate then the jury would be willing to cut you a deal" she said and he snorted "I know what happens to kidnappers and child molesters in prison, I'll never make it out alive" "we can help with that" Livie persisted "we will get you protected in prison, the FBI can do that"

"Should she be making promises like that" Morgan asked and everyone shrugged before turning their attention back to the scene playing out in front of them.

Clark stared at Livie "no" he said softly "I can't" "yes you can Lucas" Livie said "you can help save Sophie's life". "No I can't" he suddenly shouted leaping to his feet and in the observation room everyone tensed ready to run in if need be.

"I cant betray him, you don't know what it was like for me, my father beat me every day, it was all he seemed to enjoy doing, he would whip me with a belt and punch me with his fists before he would sexually abuse me, you have no idea what that was like. Then I finally got out of there when I was fourteen and I thought things would be better but no they weren't, everything was the same, everyone bullied me, people tried to abuse me, but … he wouldn't let them, he stopped them from hurting me and because of him I felt safe for the very first time"

He glared at Livie who had remained where she was "you know nothing about me" he said coldly "you are a spoiled little rich kid who has never felt pain, who has never been hurt" he hissed. Livie chewed her lip in an almost angry way before she stood up and looked him straight in the eye "don't go there" she said "I know more about pain, about suffering than you think." He snorted and flung himself back in the chair "don't pretend" he said "trying to sympathise with me, it won't work, you are lying"

Livie suddenly seemed to snap because she suddenly launched herself towards the table and grabbed her tablet, she opened it angrily and accessed a document before she slammed the tablet down in front of him "lying am I" she asked coldly "I don't think so because that is proof that I am not"

"Hotch what is that" Emily asked uncertainly. "Get her out" JJ said "That's too much" but Hotch put out a hand "wait" he said "this could be our only chance" "Hotch you know she shouldn't open that door again" JJ said and Hotch looked at her "it was her choice" he said.

Emily looked at the others who looked just as bemused as she felt before she looked back at Livie who was leaning over the table her eyes burning with emotion.

Clark was staring at the document in shock before he looked up at her "this is fake" he said uncertainly but Livie snorted "I wish" she said bluntly "let me tell you a story Lucas, a story that shows that I know what you have been through". She slowly began to walk around him glaring at him "there was this detective, she worked for NYPD, and one day she caught a case, a case involving a girl who had been murdered. That afternoon she received a call from a man who told her to let the case go and nothing bad would happen to 'her'" she paused and sat down opposite him.

"The detective then received a phone call from her daughter who was terrified, saying that someone had tried to grab her but she had gotten away. The detective tried to get to her daughter but was too late, she watched her daughter get drugged and kidnapped, ripped away from her by some coward who didn't want to get caught for murder"

She looked at Clark before she paused and looked over at the observation mirror and she hesitated before she looked back at Clark. "That detective" she said "she was my mom and her daughter that got kidnapped… that was me"

Inside the observation room everyone gasped in shock. Rossi and Emily both stared at each other before looking back at Livie. Morgan's expression tightened into one of distaste. Hotch and JJ both looked sombre, 'they had already known' Emily realised; they had read her file, of course something like that would have been in there. She glanced over at Reid and saw the shock and sympathy on his face as he stared at Livie; he looked so startled and confused.

Livie was still staring at Clark who was looking at her "so what you got kidnapped" he said "that isn't that bad". "Oh the story is only getting started Lucas" Livie breathed and she swiped her finger across the screen of the tablet, turning the page of the file. "When I woke up I was all alone, they had locked me in this cellar that I can remember to this day; dark, damp, stinking of rot and cold, so cold. I was scared out of my mind because I didn't know what was going to happen to me, but I knew that my mom would be looking for me and that she wouldn't stop and I knew that when I got out of there, I would see my mom again, that was the only thought that kept me going".

She broke off and looked at Sophie's picture "Sophie though will never see her mommy again though will she? Because she is dead, does she know that? Do you tell them that mommy and daddy are gone" Clark didn't answer but his expression gave Livie her answer and she scowled before she continued.

"My mom received a call the next day from my kidnappers and he taunted her, he said I had settled in well and that I would be fine as long as my mom did everything he asked… her boss wanted proof of life before he let my mom do anything that he wanted from her. So she asked for some" she paused and they saw her hand shake briefly before she swallowed and pressed on, flicking to the next page of the report.

"Do you know what they sent her Lucas? They sent her a video…. This video"

She tapped on the play button and the rest of the team could see via one of the cameras a video that began to play…

It began with an image of a door, a gloved have reached out and unlocked the door before pushing it open. The camera then zoomed in on a small motionless figure lying under a filthy blanket, her hair hung in knots, her face was tight and pinched, like she was having a bad dream and she was curled up in a defensive posture. There was a bang as the door was slammed shut and she jerked awake.

Reid stared at the image of the young Livie who stared at the camera before leaping up and backing away. "What do you want from me" she begged and they could all hear the terror in her voice "please let me go." The voice that answered was gentle almost reassuring, and they saw the confusion in the young girl's face "I want nothing from you my dear personally my dear, don't worry I won't hurt you, as long as everything goes to plan"

The young Livie stared at him before she continued to back away trying to keep as much distance between herself and her kidnapper. "Why am I here" she begged and they could see tears shining in her eyes. "Because my darling, I need you to get your mother to do something for my friend, I am going to send her this video, talk to her if you like my sweet" the kidnapper said and the camera zoomed in on the terrified little girl who stared at it before she whispered "I love you mom". To the side JJ looked upset, like she wanted to turn away but she couldn't look away from the horrifying image that held them all transfixed.

On the video the kidnapper moved towards his victim and she continued to back away until she reached the wall. She pressed herself up against it as though hoping it would swallow her up "please don't hurt me" she begged "please let me go". The gloved hand came up tracing down her cheek causing Livie to shudder and a few tears to slip down her cheeks "I wouldn't hurt you if I didn't have the choice my dear, it is my friend who wants to hurt you." Livie leapt backwards, "what" she cried "why?" there was a sigh "your mother wants proof of life, so my friend wants to give her very visual proof". There was a clang and the door opened and two men entered "remember" one of the men said coming very close getting right in her face and Livie shut her eyes "your mother asked for this".

"No" the young Livie screamed "she wouldn't ask for something like this she wouldn't". "Oh quite contraire my sweet, you didn't hear her on the phone, she doesn't even sound fussed that you are missing". "You're lying" Livie screamed again stamping her foot in distress and covering her ears desperately. "We will see" the new kidnapper said and then placed the camera down on a ledge so they could see two men move forward towards Livie who cowered away "no" she whimpered "please no" but they ignored her.

One man grabbed her and forced her to the ground pulling her arm hard behind her back causing her to cry out. The other man stepped forward, he was wielding some sort of iron pipe which he swung experimentally, and the end was white hot glowing in the dim light. Livie struggled desperately, again she stared at the camera her lips forming the word 'help' when the pipe came down on her back.

Livie screamed. She screamed as it hit her back and screamed as the attacker pressed the white hot metal against her back, pushing down; the pain that she was in must have been unbearable. The stick came down again and again, Livie was screaming, crying out "mommy help me please", suddenly another voice whispered "feel her pain and suffer detective" before Livie's screams became louder and more pleading.

JJ turned away unable to see the young girl struggling to get away from the iron screaming in pain, crying and begging for her mommy to come and rescue her. Glancing over Emily saw that JJ looked like she was about to throw up and Emily felt the same as she listened to the screams of a terrified little girl. She glanced at Reid and felt her heart break even more when she saw the pain on his face and his eyes shining. Morgan looked disgusted and also very pissed, every muscle was clenched as he stood there listening to the cries of pain.

Livie was staring at the video blankly and they all saw her tremble slightly before she reached out and stopped the image, pausing it on an image of her younger self's screaming face. She sat there breathing deeply before she looked back up at Clark who had gone rather white as he stared at the image with wide eyes. "You have scars from what happened to you Lucas" she asked softly and he shakily nodded "so do I" Livie whispered and she twisted in her seat and brushed her hair aside and pushed the back of her shirt down out of the way.

JJ let out another gasp and even Hotch looked disgusted. Everyone's faces reflected the same shock, anger and sympathy that they all felt. Reid felt slightly sick in his stomach as he stared at the burn marks lining Livie's shoulders. They stood out on her skin, large and lumpy shining slightly in the light. Some of them were still dark, contrasted against her pale skin. Permanent reminders of what had happened to her when she was a young girl.

Livie turned back to face Clark who was looking at her "those cover my back and shoulders" she said "every time I see them, I remember being in that basement, and I wake up screaming sometimes, dreaming of that pipe flashing down towards me, branding me for life" Clark looked away looking slightly uncertain.

They sat there in silence before his curiosity obviously over came him "how did you get out" he blurted and Livie looked at him. "My kidnappers made their demands; all the evidence from the case and fifteen thousand dollars for them to use to escape. They told my mom to meet them at the docks the next day for the exchange". She paused again before she continued "when we got there my mom was already there along with her friend Rick. The leader of the kidnappers looked at me and told me not to try anything or he would kill my mom. Then to make sure my mom didn't do anything…" she paused again looking at Clark and everyone dreaded what would be said next "he shot me, three times, twice in the leg, I was lucky that they were just flesh wounds and then he shot me once in the shoulder" again she lowered the shirt to reveal her shoulder with its small puckered scar resting on it, from where the bullet had torn through her skin.

Livie sighed and covered the mark, "doctors say I was lucky there too" she murmured "took me a while but I regained full use of my arm". She looked away before she continued "they brought me forward" she said "and my mom gave them everything they wanted before they released me… I thought that was it but then they attacked again, the leader had a knife now and he was determinedly trying to stab me. My mom saved me, she knocked me clear but the knife caught her in the side and she fell" she shivered and her eyes went slightly distant as she obviously briefly flashed back to that time before she shook her head and continued.

"The leader went for her to finish her off but I stepped in the way, I didn't want him to hurt her, I wouldn't move so he grabbed me, dragged me to the edge of the docks and stabbed my in the stomach before he threw me into the water" she looked away again "my mom managed to save me but I went into a coma and when I woke up… I couldn't remember anything, I lost my memory, and I didn't remember my mom nor anything that had happened to me ever"

She dropped her head before she looked Clark square in the face almost as his equal "I know what it I like to feel helpless and powerless, like the whole world is working against you, believe me I know, I know what you went through as a kid, I know your pain"

Clark stared at her looking uncertain "why are you telling me this" he asked in a whisper. "So you know that there is always a choice" Livie said staring right back at him "I went through a lot when I was a kid Lucas just like you did, but that didn't make me a killer. You may think that because of what happened to you as a kid you didn't have a choice but you did Lucas you did" she stared at him, willing him to understand as he stared at the table swallowing hard.

Slowly Livie sighed "when your father beat you were you scared, were you scared anticipating his next rage" Clark nodded, still not looking at her. Livie tilted her head to the side looking at him "I was too" she said "I was thirteen years old and I was scared out of my dammed mind because I was all alone and then after they did that to me I was terrified they would come beat me again and they did Lucas. They came back and verbally abused me, they told me my mom didn't love me, they told me she hated me, they were determined to destroy my faith in her and my faith was the only thing that kept me going. Do you know what happened when I woke up? The only thing I remembered was that which had been beaten into me, that my mom, my best friend in the world, the person I cared about more than anything else didn't love me"

Clark swallowed again "your mother was killed by your father wasn't she" Livie said, he didn't respond but he didn't need to. Livie sighed "your father scared you a lot I know…" she paused before she asked "how do you think Sophie is feeling" and he stiffened not liking that they were back onto the missing girl. "She is six years old" Livie said tapping the picture "just a little baby girl, scared and alone, cold, locked in a dark basement" "not in a basement" Clark muttered before scowling when he realised he had given something away. Realising this was her chance Livie pressed on.

"Ok" she said "well that is good I guess, but I bet she is still scared hmm… did she cry a lot? I know I did". When Clark looked up at her again he looked slightly torn and Livie could see that "it isn't too late to save her Lucas, tell us where she is and we can end that fear and pain you know she is feeling, she wouldn't have to die, wouldn't that make you feel better?"

Clark lifted his gaze to her and he looked panicked "I can't… he'll kill me" he whispered "no" Livie said urgently "he won't hurt you, not if you help us rescue Sophie, please don't let anyone else get hurt Lucas, you have a choice right now, make sure it is the right one"

The minutes ticked past as everyone held their breath whilst Livie and Clark stared at each other before eventually Clark sighed and dropped his head "201 Lightfield Road" he said softly "she'll be in the attic, there is a secret room behind a book case" Livie nodded "thank you" she whispered before she slowly stood up and gathered up her things before she moved over to the door. Before she slipped out though her eyes fell on the mirror and she stared at it for a minute before she slowly slipped out of the room.

Morgan looked at everyone else before he uncertainly opened the door to see Livie leaning against the wall with her hand over her forehead, eyes closed and breathing hard. They all stood there for a minute watching her, uncertain of what to do before eventually she allowed her eyes to flutter open and she looked over at them standing watching her.

Her eyes flicked over them, trying to judge how they felt before she gave a weak smile. Hesitantly Emily moved over to her and gently pulled her into a hug with Livie returned and the smile widened slightly. Slowly they all moved forward to give her a hug and she accepted each one without speaking. When JJ came forward she hugged her tightly murmuring "I'm sorry" "don't be" Livie murmured back "I'm fine, what happened to me all those years ago is a part of who I am and without it I wouldn't be here today" JJ hugged her tightly before stepping away and Livie looked around at them all "I'm fine" she said "really I am"

She looked up at Reid who was standing next to her and JJ noticed her hand slip into his before she looked around again "lets go rescue Sophie" she said softly and they all nodded.

XO

In the car Morgan, Emily and JJ travelled in silence at first pondering what they had just seen and heard.

"JJ did you know all that" Morgan eventually asked quietly and JJ sighed "not all of it" she whispered "I knew she had been kidnapped when she was thirteen and that she had been badly hurt. I had intended to read into it to see whether she was suitable but then I met her and I didn't see what I expected to see from someone who had been torn away from her mother, beaten and had then fallen into a coma and forgot everything. I didn't see a scared traumatised girl, I saw a strong, confident young lady who wanted to learn the truth behind the actions of serial killers. I saw someone who had seen death, but wasn't going to let that hold her back. I didn't think what had happened to her was troubling her so I didn't feel the need to dive into her past" she dropped her head "god did you see what they did to her" she whispered "how did she survive that"

Nobody answered; they didn't know how she had made it. It had been a miracle. "What do we do now" Emily asked looking uncertain "we follow her lead" Morgan said "let her decide how she wants things to be and we help her, she spilled her guts to save a little girl so lets help her save that child's life". Again everybody nodded in agreement.

In the other car Hotch kept glancing at Livie in the rear view mirror, she had kept her head ducked for most of the journey and was playing with a charm bracelet around her wrist. "You did good in there" he eventually said and she looked up to give him a grateful smile "but you didn't have to do that" he added "you didn't have to hurt yourself like that"

Livie sighed "I knew I had to get through to him and it was the only way that I could see" she looked at Rossi and Reid who were eyeing her uncertainly. "I'll be fine" she said "guys it wasn't the first time I had to talk about it, hell I had to stand up in front of a room full of people and testify against the guy who had burned my back when I was thirteen. I had to sit in that little box, alone and isolated, in full view of everyone including my kidnapper who sat there smirking at me the whole time and tell them about how they had shoved the iron against my skin for half an hour branding me. I had to sit there and watch that video again just when I was beginning to recover, believe me Hotch, that was fine compared to having to do it when I was thirteen"

Hotch sighed as he glanced at her again "just be careful" he said "don't throw yourself into any situation you can't handle you hear me" Livie nodded before she looked away. "What happened to the men who took you" Reid hesitantly asked and Livie looked over at him before she sighed "they were all sent away for life but the guy who branded me… he only served about three months" "why" Rossi asked "did he get out" "no" Livie said with a small smile "someone killed him whilst he was in prison" she dropped her head again.

Hotch saw Reid hesitate before he cautiously reached across the gap to gently take her hand. Hotch watched their fingers interlock and Reid squeeze Livie's hand gently before she gently rubbed her thumb across the back of his hand.

It was amazing how much could be said without any words and just that small gesture. Without saying anything Reid had told Livie that it was ok and that they were there for her and that she was safe, and Livie had responded that she knew and she trusted them all. There was definitely a connection between those two and it was getting harder to ignore.

"_**Crime butchers innocents to secure a prize. And innocence struggles with all its might against the attempts of crime" Maximilien Robespierre**_

**Hope you enjoyed that. If you want to read what happened to Livie in full you can find the story on my profile. Please bear in mind that I wrote that story when I was very young and it isn't the best written story in the world. If you would like a synopsis of what happens to her inbox me and I will write you one.**

**The main reason I brought Livie into this story is that what happened to her there was traumatic and hurtful. She had been through a lot, just like Reid. I wanted them both to find happiness.**

**Anyway please review. I love hearing what you think.**

**Thanks**

**Mysticgirl.**


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